Teachers' future discussed at New Hanover meeting

Published: Tuesday, November 5, 2013 at 8:10 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, November 5, 2013 at 8:10 p.m.

Teachers in New Hanover County got a glimpse Tuesday of how their new move away from tenure might work. But following the N.C. General Assembly's new law is still a murky process.

Facts

In a nutshell

School officials in New Hanover County and across the state are trying to figure out how to implement a new law that phases out tenure and rewards certain teachers with bonuses for giving up the job protection early. But with little guidance from the state, they're struggling to devise a selection process and other details of the new system.

Starting in January, school officials will select 25 percent of teachers as their district's top performers. Those teachers will get a pay bump and an early move to a four-year contract instead of tenure. While there's little direction from the General Assembly on how to pick the best teachers, districts must be able to defend their system as being fair to teachers. The New Hanover County Board of Education heard at its Tuesday meeting about the difficulty in doing that.

The General Assembly voted during this year's session to eliminate teacher tenure, moving teachers instead to one-, two- or four-year contracts. That will be put fully in place by the 2017-18 school year.

But districts can select the top 25 percent of their teachers and offer them a $500 annual bonus to move off tenure this year to a four-year contract.

Until Tuesday, it had been unclear how districts would select that top 25 percent. John Welmers, the district's assistant superintendent for human resources, gave board members four requirements that teachers in New Hanover County must meet to fall in that category:

Teachers must teach students directly for at least half the school day; teachers must have worked with New Hanover County Schools for at least three consecutive years prior to Sept. 1, 2013; teachers must have worked at least 120 days during those three preceding years; and teachers must be deemed effective on their annual evaluations.

It's still unclear whether each school will pull its top 25 percent or whether it will be done districtwide. But it's very clear that only 25 percent will be chosen and that teachers do not have to accept the offer. If a teacher rejects the offer, another teacher will not be selected to take that person's place.

"If they all turn us down, then we're done," Welmers said.

There's support from teachers in at least three schools in the county to do that. All teachers at Murray Middle School have signed a petition saying they'd refuse the contract, while more than 80 percent of Myrtle Grove Middle School's teachers have signed a similar petition. A petition was also circulating at Ashley High School.

To the New Hanover school board, making these kinds of decisions without a rubric from the General Assembly seems close to impossible.

"How can we give (teachers) a contract when we don't know what the contract is going to say?" asked board member Lisa Estep.

"That's one of the top questions we have, and we don't have an answer," Welmers said.

Board Vice Chairwoman Jeannette Nichols shook her head and trailed off as she tried to articulate her thoughts.

"This is very, very ... so many unintended consequences, and so frustrating for the teachers. This is just not fair," she said, prompting applause from about two dozen teachers in the audience.

<p>Teachers in New Hanover County got a glimpse Tuesday of how their new move away from tenure might work. But following the N.C. General Assembly's new law is still a murky process.</p><p>Starting in January, school officials will select 25 percent of teachers as their district's top performers. Those teachers will get a pay bump and an early move to a four-year contract instead of tenure. While there's little direction from the General Assembly on how to pick the best teachers, districts must be able to defend their system as being fair to teachers. The New Hanover County Board of Education heard at its Tuesday meeting about the difficulty in doing that.</p><p>The General Assembly voted during this year's session to eliminate teacher tenure, moving teachers instead to one-, two- or four-year contracts. That will be put fully in place by the 2017-18 school year.</p><p>But districts can select the top 25 percent of their teachers and offer them a $500 annual bonus to move off tenure this year to a four-year contract.</p><p>Until Tuesday, it had been unclear how districts would select that top 25 percent. John Welmers, the district's assistant superintendent for human resources, gave board members four requirements that teachers in New Hanover County must meet to fall in that category:</p><p>Teachers must teach students directly for at least half the school day; teachers must have worked with New Hanover County Schools for at least three consecutive years prior to Sept. 1, 2013; teachers must have worked at least 120 days during those three preceding years; and teachers must be deemed effective on their annual evaluations.</p><p>It's still unclear whether each school will pull its top 25 percent or whether it will be done districtwide. But it's very clear that only 25 percent will be chosen and that teachers do not have to accept the offer. If a teacher rejects the offer, another teacher will not be selected to take that person's place.</p><p>"If they all turn us down, then we're done," Welmers said.</p><p>There's support from teachers in at least three schools in the county to do that. All teachers at Murray Middle School have signed a petition saying they'd refuse the contract, while more than 80 percent of Myrtle Grove Middle School's teachers have signed a similar petition. A petition was also circulating at Ashley High School.</p><p>To the New Hanover school board, making these kinds of decisions without a rubric from the General Assembly seems close to impossible.</p><p>"How can we give (teachers) a contract when we don't know what the contract is going to say?" asked board member Lisa Estep.</p><p>"That's one of the top questions we have, and we don't have an answer," Welmers said.</p><p>Board Vice Chairwoman Jeannette Nichols shook her head and trailed off as she tried to articulate her thoughts.</p><p>"This is very, very ... so many unintended consequences, and so frustrating for the teachers. This is just not fair," she said, prompting applause from about two dozen teachers in the audience.</p><p><i></p><p>Pressley Baird: 343-2328</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @PressleyBaird</i></p>